Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi: I am very pleased about this win

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

"I think this was a great race for everyone because there were all four leading riders of the championship, fighting very closely and all in strong form. We knew that they would all be tough to beat today so I am very pleased about this win,

I rode very well and my team worked brilliantly all weekend to find the right setting. I had a very good start today, a great battle with Stoner early on and then after half race distance I was a little faster and really able to push at the maximum, which was great fun. At the end it came down to another incredible battle with Lorenzo and I really had to be on top form, especially because he passed me when I wasn't expecting it. Luckily I was able to take him back and then I rode a perfect final lap with no mistakes.

Everything worked well today, my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres, so thanks and well done to everyone. This is my fourth win of the year and I really think that our Yamaha is a fantastic bike this season. I think races like this are great for the sport.

Now we have a small advantage in the championship and we're going straight to Donington, one of my favourite tracks where I really hope I can win after a few bad years without a victory!"

MotoGP Race Results - GP of Germany

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 41'21.769
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 0'00.099
3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'02.899
4 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'10.226
5 Alex De Angelis Honda SMR 0'21.522
6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'30.852
7 Marco Melandri Kawasaki ITA 0'31.301
8 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'31.726

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Valentino Rossi wins thrilling head to head battle in Germany

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were embroiled in a thrilling head to head battle to the flag at the German Grand Prix in Sachsenring today. As at Catalunya earlier this season, it was the eight-time World Champion Rossi who emerged the winner, but his young team-mate pushed him every step of the way and finished just 0.099 seconds behind, an almost identical gap to that of Catalunya. Rossi's 101st win means he equals Agositini's all-time podium record of 159 in all classes.

Rossi got a brilliant start from pole, in contrast to Lorenzo beside him who slipped several places to sixth at the first split. The 22-year-old soon made up one place however and then Randy de Puniet crashed, elevating him to fourth at the end of the first lap. Lorenzo had a brief exchange with Andrea Dovizioso but soon dispensed with him and it was then Rossi leading from Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo - the four main championship protagonists within three-quarters of a second.

On lap seven Rossi relinquished his lead to Stoner and it remained that way for the next ten laps, although the gap from the Australian to Lorenzo in third was almost nothing. On lap 18 the Italian pulled off a brilliant pass on the brakes at the bottom of the hill into the penultimate turn to retake the lead and his team-mate followed him through, passing Stoner on the finish straight to leave the Yamaha pair lying first and second. They quickly began to eke out a gap from their pursuers and with less than two tenths between them it was clear that they were heading towards another tense finale. Lorenzo made his move at the start of lap 26, passing his team-mate into turn one and hanging onto the lead until the second to last lap, when Rossi overtook him in the same place in what proved to be the decisive pass. A brave attempt from Lorenzo to go around the outside of Rossi at the start of the final lap fell short and a perfect final lap from the 30-year-old sealed his fourth win of the season, leaving Lorenzo to content himself with his eighth podium this year and Pedrosa to cross the line nearly three seconds further back in third.

Rossi's win means he stretches his lead over Lorenzo in second to 14 points, with eight rounds remaining. The Spaniard in turn lies14 points ahead of Stoner as the paddock moves straight on to the UK for the British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

Valentino Rossi: I'm really happy for this pole

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

"I'm really happy for this pole because it means I've already got more than in the whole of last year! Getting the pole position here is very important for the race because it's such a hard place to overtake, so I'm really happy.

We've done some good work today and my team has done a great job to set-up the bike. We've made a few small modifications, which have improved the feeling for me and I felt very confident today despite the bad conditions.

At the end it was really very difficult and we were right on the limit because there was so much water on the track, but I knew I could push a bit more and the result was this great lap.

I really hope it's dry tomorrow - for the sake of everybody - but at the moment it's doubtful so at least we can be confident that we're well prepared in the wet as well."

MotoGP Results Qualifying Session - GP of Germany

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'32.520
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 1'33.160
3 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'33.759
4 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 1'34.404
5 Alex De Angelis Honda SMR 1'34.490
6 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 1'34.564
7 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'34.607
8 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'34.725

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MotoGP Results Free Practice - GP of Germany

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'22.779
2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'23.034
3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'23.088
4 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 1'23.133
5 Alex De Angelis Honda SMR 1'23.282
6 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'23.295
7 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'23.351
8 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 1'23.367

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Valentino Rossi: This was quite a strange session

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

"This was quite a strange session because we had all sorts of track conditions and then at the end it was basically dry and I was quite fast. It was a good chance to work on the rain setting and I am pretty happy because the bike felt good and our times were also quick on the wet track.

It seems we have a good setting immediately here for all conditions, because it continued to feel good as the track dried and the nature of the asphalt changed. We have some things to improve, especially the feeling and general balance in the faster parts of the track, so we will concentrate on this tomorrow.

Right at the end we had a bit of traffic or we could have been faster, but anyway we're still third so I think we are in good shape. It seems Bridgestone have brought good tyres for this track, of course there is no intermediate tyre which is always going to be a bit difficult in these sorts of conditions, but I don't think it was a big problem today."

MotoGP returns to Europe with Fiat Yamaha leading the way to Germany

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:00:00 GMT

After their American foray to Laguna Seca just ten days ago, the Fiat Yamaha Team is preparing for a return to European shores with the first of a double-header of races this weekend at the Sachsenring in Germany. It will be the start of a tough fortnight for the riders, with this race followed immediately by the British Grand Prix at Donington. Now at its halfway point, the MotoGP World Championship remains tight at the top but Fiat Yamaha continues to lead the way with Valentino Rossi nine points ahead of 22-year-old team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who in turn holds an advantage of seven points over Casey Stoner.

The wooded hills of the Sachsenring have produced some stunning racing over recent years, not least in 2006 when Rossi started from 10th to produce a master class of overtaking and lead home the closest ever finish in MotoGP, with the top four separated by just 0.307 seconds. The 30-year-old has three other wins at the German track and last year finished an important second in torrential rain as several riders slid out. With three wins under his belt so far this season he will be hoping for career victory number 101 this weekend, as he looks to extend his lead at the top of the standings and give himself some breathing space as the paddock goes into its summer break in two week's time.

Located in the heartland of the former East Germany's once illustrious motorcycle racing industry, the Sachsenring is built right next to the old road course, a characteristic the track shares with Brno in the nearby Czech Republic, which the paddock will visit in mid August. It is the second shortest track on the calendar and features a series of tight and relatively slow corners mixed in with some dazzlingly fast ones - including a stomach-churning downhill right hander which was added in 2003.

Valentino Rossi - "Rested ans recharged"

"Thank goodness we've had some time to rest after the last two races because I was really quite tired after Laguna! The next two races are back to back and again it will be very hard, and it's also a very important stage of the championship, the halfway point. Sachsenring isn't one of my favourite tracks but I've had some great races there and generally it suits Yamaha well, which is good. We need another good result to keep our lead because our rivals are so strong and we can't afford to make any mistakes. Last year there was a lot of rain in Germany but in fact we were able to take a great second place. I hope this year we can go one better."

Davide Brivio - "A positive moment"

"Sachsenring isn't one of our favourites but we're going there after good results in the last few races and we're enjoying a positive moment so hopefully we can continue the momentum this weekend. As always our first target is the podium and we've achieved this at all but one race this season so we will look to continue that trend! Last year it was very wet in Germany but we were able to take an important second place, which gave Valentino key points for his championship battle. This time we arrive in the lead but we have to maintain focus because these are two very important races before the summer break and it's important to everyone that we go into the 'holiday' at the top."

Valentino Rossi: Second is good today

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:39:00 GMT

“The first half of the race was quite difficult because we weren’t at 100% today. I didn’t expect Dani to be so fast but he was very strong and there wasn’t much I could do to go with him!

The last ten laps were very exciting because Lorenzo was pushing me so hard that I had to really make another step and then Dani slowed down and suddenly he was right in front of me! I thought there was a chance to pass on the final corner but unfortunately I was just too far off and it was too much of a risk.

Second is good today because we were not in perfect shape here, we missed something in the setting and this is always a hard track anyway, so we have to be happy with these twenty points. We have extended the championship lead so it’s a good result for us and we have shown that we are still strong this year even when things are not perfect.

This consistency is the most important thing for the championship. Now I am happy that we have some time to rest because these have been a hard two w

MotoGP Race Results – Laguna Seca

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:50:00 GMT

1. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 44′01.580
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 44′01.924
3. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 44′03.506
4. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 44′14.012
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 44′23.243
6. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 44′23.621
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44′31.781
8. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44′34.437

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